Track & Field

Wittenberg Sets Record, Ranks Second as Men’s Track & Field Competes at Wheaton

Tom Hanlon

Jan 20, 2019

Norton, MA --- Senior Ryan Wittenberg (Bedford, NH) set a WPI record while picking up an individual and a relay victory as the men's track & field team competed at the non-scoring Wheaton Invitational on Saturday.

Wittenberg clocked a 1:52.65 to reset his own standard in the 800m and rank second on the NCAA Division III performance list with a converted time of 1:51.07. He went on to team with sophomore Ben Steeves (Hollis, ME), sophomore Oliver Thomas (Goffstown, NH) and freshman Devin Coughlin (Newton, MA) to take the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:26.22. The 800m also saw junior Tom Hanlon (Derry, NH), freshman Brian Brooks (Brewster, MA) and Steeves hand in sub-two minute times to rank 12th (1:57.05), 26th (1:58.02) and 30th (1:58.39), respectively, on the national leaderboard.

Sophomore Malek Elshakhs (Storrs, CT) posted a 39th-ranked 8.55 in the 60-meter hurdle prelims while he was second in both to Thomas who delivered a winning 8.41 in the final. Sophomore Matt Adiletta (Bolton, MA) won the 200-meter dash with a Division III qualifying time of 22.90 as classmate Johann Bradley (Slidell, LA) cleared 14-5.25 to secure the pole vault.

Junior Avery Ingegneri (Warwick, RI), freshman Andrew Yatsuhashi (Reading, MA) and senior Michael Brady (Medway, MA) finished second (4:27.37), third (4:27.98) and fourth (4:28.38) in the mile. The quartet of Brady, sophomore Logan Gaudette (Holden, MA), senior Matt Rabasco (Pittsfield, MA) and Ingegneri handed in a second-place time of 8:34.70 in the 4x800-meter relay. Freshman Sam Furman (Groton, MA) and senior Lucas Gagne (Franklin, NH) were four inches apart as the duo went 2-3 in the shot put with heaves of 42-6 and 42-2. Junior Garth Hull (Arlington, MA) soared 5-10.75 to take second in the high jump.

In the long jump, senior Kevin Pawlak (Westford, MA) finished third with a distance of 19-10.25. Junior Nick Fleury (Hopkinton, NH) handed in a third-place 7.21 in the 60-meter dash, followed by freshman Andrew Whitney (North Kingston, RI) and junior William Kopellas (Needham, MA) with a 7.25 and 7.32.

Sophomore Sullivan Boyd (Woolwich, ME) handed in a PR of 44 feet in the weight throw as Coughlin posted a 54.49 in the 400-meter run and sophomore Nathaniel Shimkus (Hope Valley, RI) clocked a 2:57.67 in the 1,000-meter run.